The ambitious and complicated law — called Obamacare by both foes and friends — has never been popular. It had no Republican support when it passed. In a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll this spring, 45% said it was “a bad idea” and 36% “a good idea.” Implementation, always destined to be a challenge, was slowed by congressional refusal to appropriate funds and by an ultimately unsuccessful Supreme Court challenge that led states to delay their part of the project. And the administration recently shone a spotlight on its complexity by unilaterally delaying for a year a provision that requires employers with more than 50 employees to offer insurance.

No one, even the most fervent advocates, thought this would be easy. “This is like changing the economy of France,” says Ezekiel Emanuel, who worked on the project in the Obama White House and is now at the University of Pennsylvania. “You can’t do it overnight.”

A provision that allows parents to put children under age 26 on their policies got a lot of attention – and a lot of use. But another requiring insurers to give back some premiums if costs are below projections has led to $1.1 billion in rebates. And hardly anyone who got one understood what it was or credited Obamacare.

The most stunning failure is the administration’s inability to rally support for the law from those people who clearly stand to benefit. One of the most significant and, thus far, undelayed provisions, means anyone without health care will be able (and in many cases, legally required) to buy it in 2014 on a new health-care marketplace called an exchange. There can be no bar or penalty for those with pre-existing conditions; premiums are based only on age and, in some states, on whether the person smokes.

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Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.